Replacing my serpentine belt- advice?

I just replaced my 2007 belt yesterday. Was second replacement. First was by prior owner at 128k seven years ago and now this one a bit over 190k. So current interval is about 60k+/- miles.
The belt looked fine from outside, in fact even the dealer didn’t see anything of concern in oil and other changes over the years, but once it was off the car, it was clear that it was heavily cracked. Was scary to look at especially in summer heat.
As best I can tell Toyota says 60-100k change interval. From now on I’m planning on changing it at 50k. May be overkill and it could also have been the seven years that were important but a small expense to avert a major problem on the road.

 

For what it's worth, the rubric in the Gen 1 repair manual (on page CO-4) was "HINT: Cracks on the rib side of a belt are considered acceptable. If the belt has chunks missing from the ribs, it should be replaced."

There's an accompanying picture that shows a belt with a chunk gone from the rib side, as well as a belt with any cracking visible on the flat side.

 

Really, I just perform a good visual inspection every time I perform routine servicing during oil and filter change. Take a strong flashlight and look at the inside of the belt- twist it if needed and get a feel for the tension. Look all around in and under the engine compartment for fluid leaks, damaged hoses or wires, etc.
Don't care what the manual says- if I see cracks in a rubber part (belt, hose, whatever) then it's on the way out and should be replaced.

Posted via the PriusChat mobile app.

 

I just did my 2009 with 320K miles on it for the first time. The old belt still looked fine. The outside still looked new. No missing pieces. The ribs had a few cracks but honestly it looks about the same as it did when it had 80K miles on it which is the first time I inspected it.

 

Two years later and the brand new belt I put in is missing half and has been split down the middle. Half the belt is still driving the pulleys but will probably fail soon. I only noticed it when I was under the hood looking at something else.

I'm positive everything was tensioned properly when I replaced it. Maybe I should have left the original in, but it did have visible cracks at 320K miles. Has 335K miles now, so the new belt self destructed in just 15K miles.

 

Aftermarket?

 

What do the pulleys look - feel like? What brand belt did you use?

Posted via the PriusChat mobile app.

 

I have cracks visible on my flatside...I'm doing just fine thank you.

 

No. I only use factory parts. I must have been dumb and not lined up the ribs on the pully's or it jumped the track which would have only happened if it was too loose. Not really sure what happened. I don't usually screw these things up.

It must have happened right after intstall because there's a thin layer of rust on the part of the smooth pulley where the missing section of belt is no longer riding on it.

 

So I bought the same belt from Amazon:

That claims to be the genuine part.
The belt itself is stamped both Bando and Toyota and has Toyota sticker on it that says "TOYOTA GENUINE PARTS" and "LEXUS GENUINE PARTS" in with the red lettering and logos from both Toyota and Lexus. Is this a fake?

 

Who knows. One thing is for sure counterfeiters spend all their resources to make the fake look real. Not to mention the Chinese company called Genuine. All their parts are stamped "Genuine".